Regulator and indicator for cigarette making machines



June 20, 1939. c s STEPHANQ 2,163,415

REGULATOR AND INDICATOR FOR CIGARETTE MAKING MACHINES Filed May 11, 19372 Sheets-Sheet l WITNESSES INVENTOR aonsfanilne 8, S'Zeph 0710 June 20,1939. 5 STEPHANQ 2,163,415

REGULATOR AND INDICATOR FOR CIGARETTE MAKING MACHINES Filed May 11, 19372 Sheets-Sheet 2 ZZZ/2975, ,6'4 67 66 I INVENTOR 27 Consianizne 6'.Siejvhano Patented June 20, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REGULATORAND INDICATOR, FOR CIGA- BETTE MAKING MACHINES 1 Claim.

This invention relates to an improved. regulator and indicator forcontinuous rod cigarette making machines.

In continuous rod cigarette making machines v5 the tobacco particles arefed on to a moving strip of cigarette paper and then passed under a rodforming tongue which shapes and compresses the particles of cigaretteinto a cylindrical rod of slightly smaller circumference than theconventional cigarette. As the particles of tobacco are thus formed intoa rod, the cigarette paper is partially wrapped around the rod andshortly after the tobacco rod emerges from the end of the tongue, pasteis applied to one edge of the cigarette paper. The edge of the paperwith the paste applied thereto is then wrapped about the rod until itoverlaps the other edge of the paper forming a complete paper encasedrod. The rod then passes through a suitable dryer causing the paste toproperly adhere and it is then cut into short sections of the properlength to form cigarettes.

In spite of the fact that the paper feeding and tobacco feedingmechanism of the machine are caused to operate at uniform rates ofspeed, the rod frequently is not of uniform character. Portions of therod will have soft spots, that is, there will be insuflicient tobaccoand the tobacco will not be of the proper compactness. Other portions ofthe rod will have too much tobacco producing hard spots with the tobaccoof such compactness as to prevent the passage of smoke beyond that pointwhen the rod is formed into cigarettes. There are numerous factors whichcontribute to the uneven character of the cigarette rod, the principalfactor being variations in the coefficient of friction between thetobacco and the rod forming tongue. Variations in the coeflicient offriction result from numerous causes such as differences in the blend ofthe tobacco or differences in the size of the tobacco particles inVarious portions of the blend, or variations in the moisture content ofthe tobacco. In spite of great precautions in trying to control thesevarious factors, variations in the compactness and mass of the rodcontinue to exist causing considerable trouble in the manufacture ofcigarettes.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved device whichwill overcome these difliculties and will indicate variations in thecharacter or compactness of the rod thereby enabling manual adjustmentof the tobacco feeding mechanism of the machine, and which may beemployed to automatically regulate the relative Speed of the tobaccofeeding mechanism as compared with the paper feeding mechanism andprimary operating mechanism of the machine.

A further object is the provision of an improved device of the abovecharacter which also embodies mechanism for automatically cutting offthe operation of the machine when the cigarette rod breaks as the resultof a. hang-up or choke-up beneath the rod forming tongue, or for someother reason.

I accomplish the desired results by disposing adjacent the finishedcontinuous cigarette rod before it is severed into cigarettes ashiftable feeler which is pressed under predetermined adjustable forceinto engagement with the rod. 1

When a rod of the desired compactness and size is engaged by the feeler,the feeler assumes one position. When the rod is too soft the feelerwill be caused to assume another position, while when the rod is toohard the feeler will be shifted to a different position. The feeler willthus indicate to the operator Whether a. rod of the desired uniformcharacter is being formed by the machine. If desired, so as to cause theautomatic adjustment of the machine, switches or contact points may belocated adjacent the feeler so as to cause the closing of electricalcircuits when variations in the character of the rod ocour and therebyset into operation electrical mechanism for automatically adjusting thespeed of operation of the tobacco feeding mechanism relative to thespeed of the primary operating mechanism of the machine.

For a fuller understanding of the invention reference should be had tothe accompanying drawings in which- Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectionalView of a regulator and indicator embodying my invention and showing acontinuous cigarette rod passing therethrough;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view in the direction of the arrows on the line2-2 of Fig. 1, showing the mechanism for automatically shutting off theoperation of the machine when the cigarette rod breaks;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view in the direction of the arrows on the line 33of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional View in the direction of the arrows on the line 44of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a view of one type of speed control that may be used inassociation with my invention; and

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic representation of the wiring circuits which maybe employed with my invention.

My mechanism preferably includes a housing such as the tube it] throughwhich the completed continuous cigarette rod I! is fed prior to beingsevered into cigarettes. The housing or tube l0 should be attached tothe machine at a convenient position between the point where the rodemerges from the heater and dryer and the point where the rod is severedinto individual cigarettes. The tube is provided as shown with anopening or cut-out l2 adjacent which the feeler, preferably in the formof a lever 14, is pivotally mounted as at E5 to the lugs i6 preferablyformed of insulating material and which is carried by the bushing I!disposed around the housing or tube It). The lever i5 is provided withan enlarged smooth head 18 for engaging the continuous cigarette rodwhile the other end of the lever indicated at [9 projects upwardly at anangle to the tube or housing It] serving as an indicator to indicate thecompactness and character of the cigarette rod and also as an actuatorfor the contact members or switches for controlling the relative speedof operation of the tobacco feeding mechanism of the machine.

Suitable means are provided for pressing the head E8 of the lever intoengagement with the continuous cigarette rod at a predeterminedpressure, and for this purpose I prefer to use a spring "9 connectedbetween the projecting member 2i formed on the top of the lever 54 abovethe pivotal point and the adjusting screw 22 carried by the housing 23formed of insulating material and which is disposed around the tube 10.The tension of the spring 20 and as a result the force with which thehead 18 of the lever is pressed into engagement with the continuous rodi I may be adjusted by means of the screw 22.

It will be seen that the pivotal position of the lever M depends uponthe force exerted by the spring 20 and also the counter-acting force orresistance offered by the cigarette rod passing beneath the lever and inengagement with the head [8 thereof. Since the spring 20 is adjusted toa predetermined tension, the lever Hi will remain in a stationaryposition as long as a rod of uniform character is passing beneath thelever. When a portion of the rod having insufficient tobacco therein ortobacco of insufficient compactness passes beneath the lever, theresulting decrease in the resistance offered to the head l8 of the leverwill cause it to pivot downwardly with the result that the end l9thereof shifts upwardly. Likewise, when a portion of the rod having toomuch tobacco therein passes beneath the lever, the resistance offered bythe rod will be suflicient to overcome the force exerted by the spring28 to the extent of causing the head iii of the lever to pivot upwardlyto a slight degree with the result that the opposite end IQ of the leverwill shift downwardly. Having set the spring 20 at a predeterminedadjustment, the operator can, by observing the relative position of theend IQ of the lever, determine whether the rod ll is of the desiredcharacter. When the end I9 shifts upwardly indicating insufiicienttobacco in the rod, the operator can manually adjust the machine so asto increase the rate of tobacco feed relative to the speed of operationof the paper feed mechanism. If, on the other hand, the end [9 of thelever pivots downwardly, it indicates that there is too much tobacco inthe continuous rod and the operator can reduce the speed of operation ofthe tobacco feed mechanism relative to the speed of operation of thepaper feed mechanism of the machine.

Preferably the device is provided with mechanism for automaticallycontrolling the relative speed of operation of the tobacco feedmechanism. Thus a pair of contacts 24 and 25 may be provided in spacedrelation above and below the end iii of the lever so that when the leverI4 shifts slightly from its normal position due to variations in thecharacter of the tube, it will engage one or the other of the contacts.The tension of the spring 20 is so adjusted that when the rod ll feedingthrough the tube I0 is of the desired character, the end IQ of the leverwill be disposed midway between the contacts 24 and 25. When the rod,however, becomes undesirably soft and has too little tobacco therein,the end [8 of the lever will be forced downwardly by the spring 2b withthe result that the end IQ of the lever engages contact 24. On the otherhand, when the rod It becomes undesirably hard and there is too muchtobacco therein, the head I 8 of the lever will be pivoted upwardlyagainst the force exerted by the spring 2E3 with the result that the endl9 of the lever will engage contact 25. Slight variations in thecharacter of the rod will cause slight pivoting of the lever without theportion i 9 engaging either contact. The lever I4 and the contacts 24and 25 are connected in circuit with suitable apparatus forautomatically adjusting the speed of the tobacco feed mechanism relativeto the speed of the paper feed and primary operating mechanism of themachine.

One satisfactory type of wiring circuit that may be employed isillustrated in Fig. 6, in which the lever 84 is shown as connected bywire 27 and lead 23 to wire 29 which leads through a switch, which willbe later described, to lead 39 and thence to one side of a source ofcurrent supply. The other side of the source of current supply isconnected by leads SI, 32 and 33 to one end of the winding of relay 34and also by leads 3!, 32 and 35 to one end of the winding of relay 36.The other end of the winding of relay 34 is connected by lead 31 tocontact 24 while the other end of the winding of relay 36 is connectedby lead 38 to contact 25.

Thus it will be seen that when the end if? of lever l4 engages contact24 the circuit of relay 34 is closed, while when the end E9 of lever Mengages contact 25 the circuit of relay 3?) is closed.

Each of the relays 34 and 36 controls a double pole switch and both ofthe switches are disposed in circuits of a universally wound seriesmotor, one of the switches causing the motor to operate in one directionand the other switch causing the motor to operate in the oppositedirection. Thus it will be seen that associated with the relay 34 arethe two shiftable contacts 3i) and 4&3 normally held in open position bya spring 38, but when the circuit of relay 34 is closed they are causedto shift into engagement with contacts M and 42 which are connected byleads 33 and M, respectively, to leads 32 and 28. The shiftable contacts39 and 48 are connected by leads 45 and 46, respectively, to the twoends of the winding of the rotor or armature 4? of the universally woundmotor.

Associated with the relay 36 are the shiftable contacts 48 and 5B whichare normally held in open position by a spring 5| but which when thecircuit of relay 35 is closed are caused to shift into engagement withfixed contacts 52 and 53 which are connected by leads 54 and 55,respectively, to the leads 28 and 32. The shiftable contacts 49 and 50are connected by leads 56 and 51 to the two ends of the winding of rotoror armature 4Tof the universally wound motor. Thus it will be seen thatthe operation of relay 34 and the closing of the contacts 39 and 4!]causes the current'to flow through the winding of rotor 41 in onedirection while the closing of contacts 49 and 50 causes the current toflow through the winding of the rotor in the opposite direction. Thefield'coil or winding indicated at 58 is connected into the circuit sothat the current flow will always be'in one direction. Thus one side ofthe coil is conected to lead 3i through lead 32 and the other side ofthe coil through leads 28 and 29 to lead 32;, the leads 3%) and 3!leading to the two poles of the source of current supply.

It will be seen from Fig. 6 and from the circuits just described thatwhen the continuous rod I! is of the desired character and compactness,the end IQ of the lever will be disposed midway between the two contacts24 and 25 with the result that the circuit of both relays 34 and 36 willbe open and the double pole switches controlled by the relays willlikewise be open. As a result of this the circuit of rotor ll will beopen and the motor will not operate. When, however, there isinsufficient tobacco in the rod H, the end IQ of the lever will engagecontact 24 closing the circuit to relay 34 with the result that contacts39 and 40 will shift into engagement with contacts 4| and 42 closing thecircuit of rotor 41 and causing the motor to operate in one direction.If, on the other hand, there is too much tobacco in the rod H, the endIQ of the lever will engage contact 25 closing the circuit of relay 36with the result that contacts 49 and 58 will shift into engagement withcontacts 52 and 53 closing the circuit to rotor 1? in a reversedirection to the relay 34 and thereby causing the motor to operate inthe opposite direction.

In Fig. 5 the reversible universally wound series motor embodying rotoror armature 4'. and field coil 58 and which is thus controlled by therelays 34 and 3G is indicated at it. This motor may be connected to theoperating mechanism for the tobacco feed of the machine so as to controlthe speed of operation thereof. Thus in Fig. 5 a drive shaft isindicated at 6| and a driven shaft at 62, the drive shaft beingconnected by a belt 63 to a suitable motor and the driven shaft 52 beingconnected by a belt 54 to the tobacco feed mechanism of the machine. Onthe two shafts GI and 52 are the oppositely tapered belt pulleys 65 and66 having a belt 61 connected therebetween. It will be seen that whenthe belt is at the extreme lefthand end of the pulleys, the tobacco feedmechanism will be operated at a greatly increased speed while when it isat the extreme righthand end it will be operated at a greatly reducedrate of speed.

The rotor of the motor 60 is geared to a spur gear 68 disposed in thecasing 69 secured to the frame of the motor and the gear 58 is threadedto the externally threaded shaft I'll so that rotation of the motor inone direction will cause shifting of the shaft 10 to the left, whilerotation of the motor in the opposite direction will cause shifting ofthe shaft to the right, suitable means being provided to preventrotation of the shaft 10. Projecting from the side of the shaft ill arethe fingers H which engage the belt 61 so that when the shaft 10 isshifted by the motor '50 the belt 61 will likewise be shifted.

The gearing and the electrical circuit is such that when the end 19 ofthe lever engages contact 24 and the relay 34 is operated, the motor 60will cause the shaft 10 to shift to the left, as viewed in Fig. 5, andthis shifting or feeding of the shaft 10 towards the left which therebyprogressively increases the speed of operation of the 5 tobacco feedmechanism, will continue until the portion of the rod H passing beneaththe end l8 of lever I4 becomes sufficiently hard to cause the end IQ ofthe lever to shift out of engagement with contact 24 thereby opening thecircuit of 10 relay 34 which in turn opens the circuit of the rotor ormotor 50, stopping further operation thereof. The tobacco feed mechanismwill thereafter continue to operate at the adjusted rate of speed untila further variation occurs in the char- 5 actor of the rod.

When the rod becomes too hard or has too much tobacco therein causingthe end l9 of the lever to engage contact 25 and close the circuit torelay 3%, the motor will be caused to operate in go the oppositedirection shifting or feeding the shaft 10 towards the right, as viewedin Fig. 5,

thereby progressively decreasing. the speed of operation of the tobaccofeed mechanism. The feeding of shaft 10 towards the right with the- 5resultant progressive decrease in the speed of operation of the tobaccofeed mechanism continues until the amount of tobacco in the roddecreases sufficiently to permit the end [9 of the lever under theaction of spring 20 to shift out of 30 engagement with the contact 25,breaking the circuit of relay 36 which in turn breaks the circuit of therotor or motor 60 causing cessation of the operation thereof. Thus itwill be seen that when a variation occurs in the character of the 5 formcharacter which is desired. The speed of operation then remains at theadjusted rate in which the desired uniform character is obtained. Themotor 69 should operate at a relatively low rate of speed so that theadjustment will not take place too rapidly. If desired reduction gearingmay be employed to connect the motor to gear 58. r In Fig. 3, Iillustrate the manner in which the lever 54 may be connected in thecircuit, thus two leads 2'! connect with the pointed pins or screws 12which form the pivotal mounting at the point 15 for the lever I4. Forconvenience only one of 1 50 the leads 21 is indicated in the diagram,Fig. 6.

' Contact 24 is located at the end of a contact strip "l4 and from eachother as shown.

In addition to the mechanism heretofore described I also provide aswitch for automatically shutting off operation of both the tobacco feed60 and the primary operating mechanism when the continuous rod breaks.This mechanism consists of a crank or lever 13 having an enlargedrelatively heavy head 14 which is forced by gravity into engagement withthe rod II, the lever being 65 keyed to a shaft 15 journaled in abracket 16 carried by the tube or housing ll]. Mounted on and keyed tothe shaft 15 are a pair of mercury switches 11 and 18, both of theswitches being of similar construction and being arranged so as to 70 bein closed position when the head 14 of lever 13 is in engagement withthe continuous rod II, as shown in Fig. 1. When the rod ll breaks,however, as when the tobacco becomes choked up beneath the rod formingtongue with the result that no rod is fed through the housing H], theend 74 of the lever 13 pivots downwardly causing the switches 11 and 18to rock, thereby opening the switches which in turn open the circuits ofthe motor and of the primary operating motor of the machine.

Each of the switches Ti and 18 are of similar construction having acylindrical casing made of insulating material indicated at 19 with asmall amount of mercury disposed therein, as shown most clearly in Fig.4. Projecting into the casing and in a position to be engaged by themercury whenthe switch is in upright position are the contacts 8|. Thetwo contacts of the switch 18 are connected to the leads 30 and 29,respectively, as indicated in the diagram, Fig. 6, while the twocontacts of switch 11 are connected, respectively, to lead 82 leading toone side of a source of current supply and to lead 83 leading to theprimary operating motor 84 of the cigarette making machine. The primaryoperating motor is connected by lead 85 to the other side of the sourceof current supply. Thus it will be seen that when the rod ll breaks orfor some reason or other is not fed through the housing or tube t0, thelever 13 will pivot downwardly tilting switches 11 and T8 and openingthe circuits of motors 60 and 84, thereby causing cessation in theoperation of the primary feed mechanism of the machine and alsopreventing further operation of the tobacco feed speed regulatingmechanism.

It will be seen from the mechanism herein described and illustrated thatI have provided an improved regulator and indicator for continuous rodcigarette making machines which automatically indicates when thecontinuous rod is not of the desired uniform character, and which alsoautomatically changes the speed of operation of the tobacco feedmechanism relative to the primary feed mechanism of the machine to thedesired amount to overcome any defect in the compactness of the rod orin the amount of tobacco in the rod.

My invention also provides improved mechanism for automatically shuttingoff the operation of the machine when the continuous rod breaks.

It should be understood that many modifications may be made in theillustrated and described embodiment of my invention without departingfrom the invention as set forth in the accompanying claim. Thus thecontacts 24 and 25 may be connected in circuit with readily visibleindicators such as electric lights or with sound producing indicators,so that when any variation in the rod occurs it will immediately bebrought to the operators attention. The lights or other indicators maybe substituted for the relays 34 and 36 in the circuits controlled bycontacts 24 and 25 or may be connected in parallel therewith where bothare used. Also in the present description it has been assumed that thespeed of operation of the primary feed mechanism of the machine isuniform and that the motor 60 merely causes variations in the speed ofoperation of the tobacco feed mechanism. The important feature in thisconnection is that the speed of the tobacco feed mechanism relative tothe speed of the primary feed mechanism should be varied by the motor60, thus instead of increasing the speed of operation of the tobaccofeed mechanism, the speed of operation of the primary feed mechanism maybe decreased and vice versa. Also my device may be used without therelays 34 and 36 and the motor 60 merely as an indicator to indicate tothe operator any variation in the uniform character of the continuousrod. The automatic shut-01f mechanism may also be formed as a separateunit or if desired may be eliminated altogether.

I claim:

In apparatus for use with a continuous rod cigarette making machine forprogressively varying the speed of operation of the tobacco feedinversely with the density of the cigarette rod, a control devicecomprising a tubular member formed with an aperture in the side thereofpositioned in the path of the cigarette rod so that the rod passesthrough the central bore of the member, a lever having pivotalconnection with the member, the pivotal connection being nearer one endof the lever and the lever being positioned so that the shorter end mayenter through the aperture in the member and engage the cigarette rodwith the longer end projecting outwardly from the tubular member,tension means for urging the shorter end of the lever into engagementwith the cigarette rod under predetermined pressure, and a pair ofcontacts positioned on opposite sides of the longer end of the lever inthe arcuate path thereof, so that the said contacts may be engaged bythe end of the lever when the density of the rod varies more than apredetermined amount, a drive shaft, a driven shaft, connected to thetobacco feed mechanism, a variable speed ratio operating connectionbetween the drive shaft and driven shaft, an electric motor connected tothe variable speed ratio operating connection so as to vary the speedratio thereof, and a pair of electric circuits each connected to one ofsaid contacts and to the lever for causing the operation of the electricmotor, when the lever engages a contact.

CONSTANTINE S. STEPHANO.

